I bought a 3 bank on board batt charger. I want to have it mounted permenetly, with the cord wired to a water proof thru hull connecter in the back. That way, all I have to do is plug in an extention cord when I get home.

I'm having trouble finding a nice thru hull fitting. I found a cheap plastic one at west marine, but I'm looking for a stainless or chrome one.

The black 15-amp plastic fixture you described is available in white also. We typically install the plastic inlets within the rear storage locker (next to the engine compartment) so you have external access without having to enter the boat. Just step up, raise the hatch and plug-in. In this case its hidden from view and you don't have to to drill out the hull.

You could use the nicer stainless 30 amp fixture for an external application with a 15 amp to 30 amp converting cord or adapter.

I have seen some of your installs where you add the inboard charger. Is there one particular brand that you prefer?I also have a two battery set up and a Perko switch - any issues with the charger and the Perko switch?

The Perko switch works in conjunction with the charger. You'll use the Perko switch in the 'OFF' position while charging to isolate the two charging banks so each battery is individually conditioned according to its needs. Otherwise, you would just as easily use a single bank charger.

I picked up a Guest 2611 charger & am looking at doing the install tomorrow. The instructions say "The charger should have at least eight inches of unobstructed area on all sides of the unit for cooling. The case of the unit will become warm during operation. Do not install the charger on carpeted, upholstered or varnished surfaces".

My batteries are located under the spotters seat of the Vride. That compartment is pretty heavily carpeted. Not to mention has quite a bit of stereo gear in it too. So I'm thinking about where & how I'm going to mount this thing. Maybe screw it to a piece of wood/plastic, then screw that to a compartment wall?

Bill, that is the same charger I have, and I installed it under my spotter seat. I called guest and asked them about installing in that compartment and he said it would be fine. Instead of using wood, I went to the hardware store and picked up 4 plastic cylinders (spacers). I had to mount the unit where you can see the 4 heads of the screws in the inner wall of the boat, so I went with stainless steal screws and rivets (i think that's what they are called). It looks pretty good, but I don't have any pictures since I removed my batteries and the charger this week for the winter. Also, just for precautions I remove the spotter seat when it is plugged in so there is more air to circulate throughout the compartment.

It sounds like they're being extra cautious in consideration of liability. I've never known these chargers to get that warm, certainly not to the degree that amplifiers do.

We often use a mounting panel as more of an adapter for a tighter screw pattern when attaching to a slightly curved surface for example. Using plastic spacers or aluminum tube/sleeves over the screws would stand off the charger and provide circulation behind the chassis too. I like to use a small aluminum tube cut to length with a hack saw... Available at every hardware store.

Hmmm, wish you'd said something sooner, 266. I did some homework on these things. The Guest charger has a 2 yr warranty. And ratings are as good or better than anything else I found, ie; BatteryTender, ProMariner, etc.

So the only space I have open is on the walk thru side of the compartment behind the spotter's seat. Moon, I understand you thru bolted yours, and I'm more than willing to do that. But it's pretty far away from the batteries so I'd have to lengthen the wires on the charger. There is a fiberglass wall just underneath the spotter's seat bottom. It would be open on 3 sides, and be close to something on the top & bottom. I can leave that seat open when using the charger so it would vent better. And it would be close enough to the batteries to not have to lengthen any wires.

It's hard to tell but looks like this is where PDXWake's charger is mounted too.

I wish that I had found out sooner. It lasted one winter, but not the second. I was already out of the warranty by the time I realized. Besides, two years is just for the charger. They wouldn't replace my batteries. Anyone need 3 Optima D31M's that won't charge above 2VDC? Good for ballast.